Battle Not With Monsters
by Syckle
Summary: A team of hero-slaying mercenaries are hired by Slade to teach the Titans a lesson, and their powers have been specially tailored to counter those of our heros. Survival seems unlikely as the Anti-Titans punish the team, but with the help of a traitor...
1. Rockin' Around & Olympus

_Disclaimer: DC comics holds the trademark for the Batman Series and the Teen Titans, not me, I'm just a humble and slightly obsessed fan... Oh, and please note that this is is based on the **Teen Titans Animated Series**_, _I have no idea what goes on in the 'Go!' comic series, so please don't chew me off for inconsistencies._

_This story is placed in the same universe as the Batman mythos of Christopher Nolan, meaning that The Joker is the "Seething Anarchist" he was in the film The Dark Knight, if only because I prefer that one over the psychopathic clown in the comic books. (Though I still love the original.) This takes place after The Dark Knight, so no Rachel Dawes or Harvey Dent/Two-Face, also as of the ending of the last movie Batman has become a true vigilante and is wanted for several murders in addition to the lows he's broken in the past. The Teen Titans are formed about ten years after Bruce Wayne's 'birth' as Batman, with Dick Grayson becoming Robin five years earlier. Finally, the 'scan lens' is based on the "Detective mode" of Batman's cowl in Batman: Arkham Asylum, the video-game by Eidios Interactive. _

* * *

Prelude: 

**Rockin' Around**

Christmas time; jolliest time of the year.

Jump City glowed, as it did every night, but around this season one could swear that it glowed a little than usual. For once, the streets were free of death and terror, children played and couples smooched and Santas... ho-ed. It seemed that even the criminals, the killers and the psychos and the rapists, had holiday shopping to do. The big day was fast approaching, and all the procrastinators had to either grab gifts now or receive a lashing later from their loved ones. During the holiday season, the American population could pretty much be divided into two groups, people who got great gifts early, and people who struggled to get mediocre ones late.

Robin and Beast Boy belonged to the latter group.

The two heroes were walking, out of costume, in the main plaza of the city, where various vendors had set up shop in the streets, selling cheap knickknacks and handmade items. If you could dodge all the frantic mothers heading for sopme collectabletoy or the distraught fathers dashing for something their daughter had demanded, you'd soon realize that all the good stuff was on sale. Unfortunately, all the good stuff had also been sold, the signs only remained up to attract suckers dumb enough to wait until the day before Christmas Eve to go gift shopping. Places like Targetand Wall-Mart were closed by now, but that didn't mean much in a city full of street-smart hustlers. One could still find anything from a bootlegged watch or a pirated DVD to heroin at half-price or two joints for the price of one.

A few of the more honest vendors were selling handwoven scarfs or festive sweaters, however over the years those had become less popular seeing as _after _Christmas it became somewhat difficult to wear red and green clothing unless you were some sort of costumed vigilante.

By now, the two young Titans were beyond desperate, having been searching for hours still being unable to finding anything suitable for their remaining loved ones.

Beast Boy had yet to pick up anything for both of his bird-themed comrades, Robin and Raven. The simple reason behind this was that Raven was an incredibly hard person to please, and Robin was so rich that there wasn't much he didn't have. Plus the slick team leader was completely uninterested in most of the things that normal people were, he was obsessed with being a hero, so what kind of gift does one get a friend who loves crime fighting but already possesses every every tool a crime fighter could ever want?

The Boy Wonder himself may not have shown it on his face, seeing as he was wearing his trademark mask as always, but he was inwardly just as distraught as his green-skinned partner. He had asked everyone else on the team, and they'd all told him the same thing, Starfire was an easy person to buy gifts for. She was easily fascinated by all manner of Earthly objects, so get her an Earthly object which she is unfamiliar with.

But Robin wanted to get her something... special.

Something she'd cherish more than the mustard she always carried with her, or the enormous larvae she kept for a pet; something she'd remember...

"Uh, Robin, hello? I'm talking to you!"

The ex-sidekick snapped out of his daze and turned to Beast Boy.

"I_ said, _wouldn't this be a great gift for Star?"

The changeling was holding up a book titled "World". Robin took it and flipped through it, it was full of pictures of various places and peoples of Earth, specifically all the most spectacular, Antarctica, New Zealand, the Himalayas, India, Afghanistan, et cetera.

"... Yeah, she'd love it." Robin said blandly, handing the book back and continuing further down the plaza. As Beast Boy paused to pay for the book, soemthing caught Robin's eye atop a nearby roof, the end of a tattered cape whipping away from the edge. His eyes narrowed.

Getting on the roof wasn't a problem, Robin never went anywhere without at least _part _of of his gear. He was still weary though, because without his armoured costume he'd be in trouble should anyone be deciding to ambush him.

The Boy Wonder blinked twice rapidly, activating his mask's scan lens. He couldn't detect any other life form on the roof, but he still had a hunch that-

"Hey kid, how's it going!?" An electronically altered voice asked, though the source was nowhere to be seen. Robin's head whipped around wildly, and he brought his fists up to bear, but he was taken completely by surprise when an invisible arm wrapped around his throat and a fist began rubbing into the top of his head.

"Merry almost-Christmas Robby!" Rex X laughed as he released Robin from the noogie.

The Titan paused a moment to run a hand through his hair, pushing it back into it's proper position, before suddenly lunging forward at his now-visible antagonizer. But the X-themed thief teleported behind the Boy Wonder and just barely grabbed the scruff of his hoodie before he lunged himself right off the building.

Robin responded by whipping around with a punishing roundhouse kick, but X ducked under the blow, grabbing the vigilante's other ankle and pulling it out from under him.

"Cool it, kiddo, it's the Holidays, I'm not here to fight." Red X said, holding up his hands as if there was a gun pointed at him.

"Are you here to give back the suit you stole!?" Robin growled, climbing to his feet and taking a stance.

A breeze picked up X's cape and caused it to wave lazily behind him, it was only then that Robin noticed the green duffel bag slung over the thief's shoulder.

"Fortunately, no," X's mechanized tone responded, and then he removed the bag, sliding it over to his rival. "But here's a peace offering, gifts for you and the rest of the Titans, you can take credit for them if you want."

Robin activated his scan visor, but the bag seemed free of any traps; however he did furiously note that no weapons were detected in Red X's suit either.

"Why?" Was the Boy Wonder's simple question, asked through gritted teeth.

"Uh, because it's Christmas...?" X answered, throwing his arms up in mock defeat again. "And because I've seen the gifts _you_ got, gotta tell ya, they suck."

"Were you spying on me!?"

"What- No! No, I ran into you a couple of times in the mall, jeez."

Robin's expression hardened.

"Just because I'm a theif by a night doesn't mean I don't _occasionally _pay for things."

The Boy Wonder reached over to grasp the bag, but his hand was smacked away.

"Not so fast kiddo, I even _wrapped _those babies, so how about a little appreciation?"

"...Thanks."

"You're welcome." One could hear the satisfaction just in X's tone.

Robin picked up the bag, finally, though never took his eyes off his living antithesis. "You _must_ want something for this."

"Righto, I need you to crash Slade's party over-"

"What do you know about Slade!?" The ex-sidekick suddenly blurted, drawing a birdarang. The thief raised a metaphorical eyebrow, before continuing.

"Over at that new hospital on Thirty Fith and Fourth, he's doing some bad stuff, like always, kidnapped a friend of mine, family's disappeared too."

"...What kind of friend?"

"The childhood kind, me and him used to get into all sorts of trouble... tagging buildings, skipping school, you wouldn't know, I'm sure that you don't have any _real _friends, thanks to the old Batman."

That struck a nerve. "Get out of my sight before I get Beast Boy to Swallow you..." Robin turned around and walked to the edge. "I'll think about saving your friend."

"Uh huh, sure, you'll definately really give a lot of thought about whether or not you wanna get your ass kicked by Slade again." X chuckled, before tapping the buckle of his belt.

When the Boy Wonder turned around the thief was gone.

Chapter One:

**Olympus**

It had been a mostly normal day in Titans Tower, as normal as it gets when five very different and hormonal teenagers are contained in one place for too long. Robin had referred to this period as "the calm before the storm", meaning that he expected something horrible to result of the current lapse in the city's crime rates. The other Titans however did not share their leader's passion, and as such generally used the cease-fire for as much goofing-off as possible.

Cyborg and Beast Boy sat on the couch, in the spots they used so frequently that one could tell whose seat was which by the odor alone. One side smelled of WD-40, and the other just smelled like green armpits. The two juvenile superheroes were happily wasting time on their new video-game, the latest _Soul Caliber _installment. They occasionally uttered curses or exclaimed happily depending on their how their character was faring, but despite their apparent disposition, they were having the time of their lives.

Starfire was decorating the Christmas tree as best she could, limited knowledge of the process causing her to place all sorts of things on the poor tree, old socks, a frilly bra she'd found in the laundry, Robin's boots, hooks without ornaments; it was a disaster to say the least.

For once however, Raven was not hiding out in her room, rather she was raiding the fridge, helping herself to another of the cookies someone had brought home from the market. They came in a basket, and were the biggest pastries she'd ever seen, they tasted like ginger and even she guiltily licked her fingers after scarfing them down.

As mentioned above, no one was very bothered by Robin's obsessive planning and endless theories, they cared so little so in fact, that when the Boy Wonder came running out, locater in hand, shouting "Trouble!!" they all gave him a moment's hesitation before actually mobilizing. The two gamers tried to save their game before realizing that one could not save a fighting game _during _a fight, Starfire knocked over her tree turning around, and had to realign it again before moving, and the lavender-haired demon spawn just had to wolf down another cookie before changing out of the navy blue sweater she was wearing into her signature cloak.

The team filed into the T-Car, buckling up and speeding out of there when suddenly Beast Boy realized he had neglected to change into his combat outfit, but Robin refused to allow Cyborg to make a u-turn. He was bitter and angry about something, something obvious, but the rest of the Titans couldn't see it.

The Titan's vehicle stopped in front of city hall, a massive structure dedicated to the history of Jump City, but they weren't there for a boring lesson, as they stepped out a booming laugh echoed from the rooftop.

"HAHAHA!! THEY FINALLY DECIDED TO COME!"

"Sorry looking lot, too bad they all have to die." muttered a second voice.

"TITANS, MOVE!!" At this the team all made it to the top of the hall within a few seconds, what they found was truly unnerving. Staring back at the teenage vigilantes was what almost appeared to be a mirror image of themselves, a team of super powered teens, who all seemed like cheap knockoffs of the actual Titans.

"What kind of trick is this?" Raven said in her usual deadpan tone, eyeing her apparent counterpart, a girl with short brown hair which had been dyed with purple streaks. She wore a black hoodie with violet designs about it; as well as gloves made from black lace and similarly coloured black jeans. In short, she looked less goth and more 'emo' as she stood across from the original teen spell caster, she also seemed a bit more... healthy, with a normal skin tone and ample bust, though upon closer inspection one would realize that this girl was also at least half a foot shorter.

A figure stepped foreword, a tall, very fit-looking female with long silver hair and an outfit not unlike Robin's had once been under Slade's tutelage. She had steel in her eyes, and whipping in the wind behind her were the ends of a do-rag of sorts, but it turned out to be a mask when she pulled it down over her face, a mask split into two sides, one black with no eye-slit, and the other orange with a white film over the eye, which made her look exactly like Slade's answer to Batman's young sidekick.

"Teen Titans, my father Slade has sent commissioned us to terminate you, hope there's no hard feelings..." She smiled, "Oh, just so you know, I'm the Ravager, and we're the Anti-Titans."

"Creative name..." Raven said, raising an eyebrow.

"Attack." Ravager commanded simply, and her team rushed forward with mechanical precision.

The girl whom Raven had taken for her rival completely disregarded her, and instead dashed forward to kick Robin in the face, cutting him off before he could give his own battle cry.

A hulking, shirtless figure with a metal skull for a head and tentacles protruding from scalp as hair unexpectedly tackled Beast Boy instead of Cyborg, and then Ravager engaged the dizzied Robin, leaving only the witch girl... to go and fight with Starfire. While a woman with frizzy black hair and electricity crackling around her attacked Cyborg.

"Hey! Spell Caster!" Called a voice from below where Raven levitated and watched, she glanced down and saw a young man in stonewashed black jeans and an unbuttoned shirt which exposed the white under-vest beneath it. He wore fingerless gloves and heavy leather boots, around his forehead trailed a black bandanna adorned with miniature jolly rogers. Beneath the bandanna was a face with thick sideburns and scruffy beard growing on his chin. His eyes looked like Starfire's with dark colour around the pupil and lighter shades around the rest of the eye, the main difference was that his eyes were a shining azure, blue so intense it seemed unnatural.

The blue-eyed boy may not have been wearing a specialized suit or weapons like his comrades, but it was clear that he was dangerous, because for some reason Raven couldn't sense his energy at all. No life radiated from him, no emptiness either, he just felt like a... a nothing, he didn't seem to exist. "You gonna' come down and fight or do I have to persuade you!?" He yelled up to the half-demon, grinning and exposing his razor-sharp teeth.

Raven waved her hand dismissively and sent a few trashcans hurtling at the strange Anti-Titan, who responded by punching the first of the lot so hard that it flew back and knocked the rest off-course.

"Now that's just underhanded." He said, smiling never leaving his face. "Alright, you wanna play like that...?" He jumped off the city hall and disappeared, Raven raised an eyebrow at the apparent surrender.

Robin was busy with Ravager, she had drawn a sword and begun taking slightly lazy but still lethal swipes at the Boy Wonder, so in response he drew one of his retractable staffs and began fighting back. As their respective weapons clashed the female warrior smiled with amusement, "You are skilled, that is refreshing."

"I bet this'll be refreshing too!" Robin responded as he broke the staff into two pieces against his opponents sword, and used her temporary surprise to swing around and smash her on the side of her skull with one.

Meanwhile Beast Boy had taken the shape of a gorilla and was struggling to keep the upper hand against the surprisingly nimble skull-headed man, who could probably match Cyborg in strength but had obviously decided to be a bit less predictable. Skull, as he imaginatively called himself, was strong enough to go toe-to toe with any of the changeling's forms, and fast enough to dodge or counter any of his attacks. The changeling morphed a bull and made to charge, but Skull grasped the poor Beast by his horns, swung him around, and smashed him directly into the roof, shaking the whole building.

At the same time, Cyborg was struck by one of the electric girl's lightning bolts as he was charging his sonic cannon, resulting in a catastrophic malfunction and the weapon exploding magnificently, also completely caving in the roof of City Hall.

"Azarath metrion ZINTHOS!" Raven shouted, using her powers to stop the debris from crushing her friends and any innocents within the building. After a moments struggle she closed her fists and smashed the pieces of the roof into dust; so the Hall would need cleaning, but it was better to clean dust than blood.

Suddenly, the blue-eyed boy from before came flying out of nowhere and grabbed Raven from behind, the surprise breaking her concentration and causing them both to plummet into the rubble with their teammates.

Starfire battled the Witch girl high above the commotion, but had lost the upper hand as her adversary was completely intangible even to starbolts. Every few moments the Witch would become visible and swipe and the Tamaranean with her fingers, not hurting her physically but sapping her emotions and strength each time. Gradually, the aerial skirmish became closer and closer to the ground until Star had no joy left to fuel her powers, and the last swipe knocked her unconscious, she too, fell into the ruined building.

When the dust cleared and Raven's eyes opened she found that she was still in the grasp of the blue eyed boy, his arms were wrapped around her, holding her in the shadows, she struggled to break away but he made a "Shush." noise and tightened his grip. The spell caster from Azarath looked up, and saw her comrades lying about, broken and defeated, all except for Robin, who held the Ravager in a choke hold and had the blade of a Birdarang at her throat. The other Anti-Titans all seemed to think this hostage situation was hilarious and made no move to help.

"Leave now or I'll end her!" Robin rasped, blood trickling out of the side of his mouth from the fall and mixing with the dust on his face.

"Oh please, you're Batman's little bitch, you couldn't kill anyone if you tried!" The Witch Girl laughed as she telekinetically lifted Starfire into the air. "How's this, you release our leader or I tear out all nine of her stomachs."

Robin was barely conscious to begin with, so this was too much, there was nothing he could do, he allowed Ravager to shrug out of his grasp. She turned slowly and took the birdarang from his hand, he did not resist in his submission, and then she stabbed the blade into his stomach, over and over and over, until he slumped palely to the ground.

Raven gasped but her captor put a hand over her mouth, the very action of which caused a flood of images to assault her mind, his origin, test tubes and beakers, vials filled with evil liquids, stolen blood, transfusion, power, death, rebirth, more power.

He released her then, somehow aware of how she'd intruded into his mind, and for a moment the two unholy children stared at each other, and then a lightning bolt struck Raven and she fell limply to the ground.

"What were ya doing hiding in the shadows back there maggot!?" Skull asked menacingly, striding up to the blue eyed boy.

"Coping a feel?" The Witch asked with a raised eyebrow and a hand on her hip.

"What? No, I was... subduing her." He answered, glancing at the unconscious Titan at his feet.

"Be faster next time Squine." Ravager commanded, though she did so with a completely calm tone of voice.

"Of course Ms. Wilson."

"I'm hungry, let's go." The thunderbolt flinging girl muttered, it was one of the rare times she actually spoke, so the rest of the Anti-Titans took heed and filed out the wrecked building, heading for their HQ.

"Father, mission success." Ravager said into her earpiece.

Slade's slow, distinguished tone filtered back to the team through their cochlear implants. "Excellent my children, come back to base and we'll discuss your next assignment."

Squine slipped a peculiar calling card into Raven's hand before adjusting his bandanna and scratching one of his sideburns idly, taking one last look at the lavender haired enchantress.

"Happy Holidays." He stated to no one in particular, and then he trudged off after his team.


	2. Riders on the Storm

_Disclaimer: DC comics holds the trademark for the Batman Series and the Teen Titans, not me, I'm just a humble and slightly obsessed fan... Oh, and please note that this is is based on the **Teen Titans Animated Series**_, _I have no idea what goes on in the 'Go!' comic series, so please don't chew me off for inconsistencies. I also obviously don't own anything referenced to, the song "Riders on the Storm" for example, by The Doors, is not mine. _

_Note: My Batman's suit is based on the one portrayed by Dave Mckean, as seen in "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth". I chose this because I like the terrifying and mysterious aspect of the shoulder spikes and the way he is always shown in shadow, it's just cool. _

_Ha! Well, my first reviewer caught me in a really good mood so I'll appease him by adding some Profiles for my original characters "The Anti-Titans". They will be directly _within _the story, but you won't have to actually read them to understand, just like you don't really need to much about the villains in the actual show. I mean, look at Mad Mod, where the heck did he come from? ...Ugh, well now I'm tempted to look that up. On with the violence and drama.  
_

* * *

**Chapter Two:**

**Riders on the Storm**

_Beep, beep, beep, beep..._

Robin awoke to the sound of an electrocardiogram, moving steadily with the beat of his own heart. He didn't move, previous experience telling him that he was likely very, very badly injured. Two figures hovered above him, talking, one had a very familiar square jaw, and the other an unmistakable British accent.

"Bruce... Alfred?" The Boy Wonder rasped, blinking up at the square jawed one, who suddenly looked down, and a white smile split across his features.

"Don't worry Dick, you're going to be fine." Bruce Wayne reassured, putting a fond hand on his legal son's forehead.

_Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeeb-_

"Son, what's wrong!?" Bruce panicked, whipping around to look at the rapidly quickening heart monitor.

"Bruce..." The young hero's hand reached up shakily and swiped the billionaire's palm from his forehead. "My name is... _Robin._"

"..._And don't call me son_...."

-------

Within a few hours The Boy Wonder was on his feet again, despite all the objections from his _old _family, he needed to check on his new one. He was heavily bandaged, and could barely walk, but he still stubbornly refused any assistance as he made his way to the makeshift sick bay of the Batcave. There were all his comrades, his friends.

Cyborg was offline but otherwise repaired, Wayne manner didn't have a new energy cell to boot him up with though, so it would be a while before he'd be saying booyah again. Beast Boy had been moved to a hospital which Wayne Enterprises had a huge share in, having sustained several bone fractures and a moderate concussion, however with his slightly above-norm healing rate he was expected to make a full recovery. Raven had been up-linked to a machine much like Robin's, however the difference was that the half-demon girl was floating about six inches from her mattress, and her eyes fluttered around fearfully beneath their lids, her subconscious healing always gave her terrible nightmares.

Last was Starfire, Bruce had said that she'd sustained no real injuries, however she was terribly unstable and had almost made flambe of Alfred when she first awakened. She was staring at all of the old costumes Bruce still kept on display, the auxiliary suits, the original Batgirl's costume, and even the first costume Robin had ever worn. The Boy Wonder approached her quietly, creeping up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders as best he could without straining himself.

"Star?"

The alien girl's only response was to throw herself into Robin's arms, immediately beginning to sob into his shoulder, squeezing his wounds uncomfortably - though he didn't object.

She mumbled something in her native language amidst all the shudders and the gasps, there was English mixed up in there as well, and as far as the lead Titan could tell, she was saying something about having lost her powers.

"Star, it's okay, what do you mean you've lost your powers?"

Starfire looked up into Robin's eyes, and then kissed him fiercely. When the two pulled away, the Tamaranean sniffled and said something in her language, shrugging.

"You... you can't speak English anymore!?"

-------

Squine's room was in no way a luxery suite, but it served it's purpose. There was a queen sized bed in the corner, because he liked to be able to see all of his room at one time, a microscopic bathroom/hiding spot through a secret door in the closet, which was full of boxes (Of... stuff"), coats, jackets, weapons and bandannas for every occasion. The wall paper was dark blue, but here and there it was splashed with bright crimson, and a very large section of the room including the only window was cordoned off with a huge tarp. In the other corner, facing the rest of the room because, again, the blue-eyed merc was very paranoid, was a desk with a laptop, as well as a printer, a telephone, and on the floor beside it was a mini-fridge. Squine spent many long hours in front of the screen, doing heaven-knows-what, practically inhaling energy drinks and power bars. Right about now the merc was browsing an auction site, trying to make the highest bid on an authentic Japanese Katana.

"Evening sweetheart." Red X grinned, appearing so suddenly that Squine jumped and within an instant had a gun pointed at the X-themed thief. "Put the pistol away, I'm just screwing with ya." X chuckled, taking a seat on the desk.

The blue-eyed warrior took a deep breath and clicked the safety of the weapon back on. "You shouldn't do that, what if my finger had slipped?" He mumbled, turning back to the computer screen.

"What are ya doin' cooped up in here?" The thief asked, ignoring his buddy's previous comment as he stretched and looked around his friend's spartan living space. "It's Friday night! C'mon, let's go out on the town, let's steal something!"

"I need to finish downloading this data while I still can, the order could come any day now, and then there'll be no chance."

"Why so serious?" X asked, cocking his mask-encased head. Squine looked at him long and hard, not grateful for the stirring of old memories.

"Oh god, not the silent treatment again." X exhaled, propping his head up on his elbow.

Suddenly the automatic door whooshed open and in walked Ravager, dressed in nothing but a bath robe and her trademark mask.

"You okay in here Squine? I'm sure I heard voices."

"What? No way, I'm just muttering to myself is all..." As the blue-eyed mercenary shook his head he managed to glance where Red X had been, and was happy that he was now gone. At the same time he struggled to avert his eyes as his leader turned to look at the tarp and her robe fell away from her right leg for a moment, exposing her entire glistening thigh for almost a full ten seconds.

"...Okay, well, uh, don't stress yourself out, take a break if the resumes become overwhelming."

"Of course."

The door whooshed closed again.

"Damn, what a _babe_." Red X said, suddenly back in the exact same spot he'd sat in before, Squine only barely flinched this time. "Dude, she wants you."

"You're crazy..." The merc mumbled, returning to his typing.

"She just came in here... in a bathrobe! She was still dripping for God's sake!"

"Uh huh."

"She totally wants you."

"Yep."

"I'm telling you man, if you would go out there and be social for once instead of hiding in here all day you'd be swimming in poon."

There was a pause, Squine's blue eyes met X's white lens, then they darted back to the screen as the monitor read "BID DECLINED, ITEM ALREADY PURCHASED". The merc sighed, chugged down the remnants of his Red Bull, and opened the top drawer of his desk, pulling out a remote control and a bag of make-ups. He clicked the remote and a section of his wall swung around to reveal a suit identical to Red X's. "Let's go steal something." He muttered as he stood up, beginning to rub white face-paint on his cheek.

-------

The Dark Knight stood overlooking Gotham City, as he often did, using the receiver built into his cowl's bat-ears to pick up on 911 calls and police scanners from all around the city.

"This is squad car ten, we have reports of a four-eighty-seven, subject is armed and dangerous, possibly deranged, request backup, over."

"Car ten this is car forty-two, what is your location? Over."

"Twenty-Second and Fifth."

The Caped Crusader swung into action.

-------

"See, you feel better now, don't you?" X chuckled as Squine weighed his newly-pilfered Katana in his hand.

"I'd feel great if Trickster hadn't pushed those poor sentries to their deaths..." Squine answered quietly, glancing at the psycho who completed their trio, a ruthless young man who used face-paint to create a Joker inspired look, with a white face, black outlines around his eyes, and lipstick around the failed Glasgow-smile he possessed. Instead of curving up to his ears, like an ordinary smile, the Trickster's deformity was only on the left side of his face, curling downwards, an eternal frown.

"People die, it's a fact of life, those guards had it coming... we _all _do." Trickster muttered, face shielded from the chilling wind by the upturned collar of his bloodied trench coat.

The other two thirds of the sortie glanced at each other, before all jumping as a black figure suddenly fell from above right in the center of them.

Batman sized up the lone thief before him as he slowly rose to his full height. The police report had accused him of Grand Theft, and the millionaire vigilante could tell they meant he'd stolen the priceless sword which he now held at the ready. The Thief wore a loose-fitting brown trench coat which looked and smelled like it had been stained with blood one too many times, beneath which was a tight-fitting suit black suit which the scan visor could not detect, and on the boy's face was a layer of makeup which was an eerily accurate off-shoot of the Joker's. Adorning the thief's forehead was a black bandanna with pirate logos about it.

"Drop the sword and any other weapons you have." The Dark Knight demanded calmly, watching the boy's every random twitch and struggling to make-out his frantic whispers.

"What do we do -- what do we do!?" The crazed villain muttered to himself.

"Attack! Kill him!" Trickster responded, grinning widely.

"No way Jose, high-tail it outta there, we're no match for the B-Man." Red X interjected.

"I concur..." The mad thief muttered to himself, leaping back before swan-diving off the building and into the streets below. The Caped Crusader followed suit, cloak elecrostatically whipping into shape as he approached the edge, but he stopped just in time to see his quarry tap the buckle of his belt and disappear instantly from view. Batman frowned.

-------

A few hours of fruitless searching for the schizophrenic later, the Bat, having just reverted back to Bruce Wayne, strode through his mansion, neatly folding the cuffs of his fresh shirt. He stopped when he noticed the hidden elevator to the Batcave left open, and there was a spot on the floor where it smelled like tea had been spilled. Alfred was asleep, so this had to be one of his young 'guests' doing... Wayne sighed, this had so far been a night full of unwanted surprises.

After changing back into his costume, Batman took the elevator back down into his lair, where he found his ward's team of juvenile delinquint heroes -- those of them who were actually in a state of health to actually _be _up and about -- sipping tea and nibbling biscuits around the Batcomputer, which was juggling several different images and biographies on it's varying screens.

The girl in the hood -- who didn't wear pants, Bruce noted unhappily -- looked up from her herbal tea as the Dark Knight approached. She wore a hood, which he didn't like, but they both wore long capes, so there was a level of respect between the two of them, despite the fact that the lavender haired enchantress thought Batman's outside-underwear was hilarious and he regarded her swimsuit-esque leotard as promiscuous. She looked back into the dregs at the bottom of her finished cup, and whatever she read in the soaked leaves made her frown. She psychically placed the cup with the other china on a table not three feet from her reach, raising an eyebrow at Batman's continued gaze.

The Caped Crusader broke off the temporal staring contest and approached the Batcomputer, in the chair of which sat Robin's small form, face creased in both pain and concentration as he poured over his intel and rubbed his bandages at the same time. Sitting on a counter nearby was the other female Titan, the one with long red hair and the unnatural-looking eyes. Batman nodded at her breifly, causing her to slink away slightly in fear.

"Friends of yours?" The Bat asked as he turned his gaze to the portraits and profiles of the various young warriors displayed on the monitors.

"I wish... They did this to us, but the plan was surely Deathstrike's." The Boy Wonder responded.

The Dark Knight's bottom lip parted from it's upstairs neighbor and curled into one of his trademark scowls. "Where'd you get all this info?"

"One of them left a business card of sorts on Raven, I hacked the E-mail address and found my way onto an underground mercenary hiring website, found these _'resumes'_ there."

"Which one?"

Raven stepped forward and pointed to the top left corner, a blue-eyed assassin stared stoically out of it. "He... wasn't trying to hurt me, not really, I think he meant to help us, but I was hit before he could do anything, suppose he didn't want to take on his team alone."

"It seems that way." Robin continued, "The E-mail address was empty of messages or contacts, however there was one item in the drafts folder-"

"The link to Merc-Net."

"Exactly."

Raven sighed quietly and tapped the Batman on his shoulder, who stepped back from the console he was leaning over to tower over her. Undaunted, the spellcaster asked the question with her usual dry tone. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to read around here, would you?"

Silently the Bat flicked a switch and a bookcase elevated itself out of the floor, with texts marked with all sorts of Dark Runes and filled with unholy incantations, before she could grab one however, he stabbed a finger in her direction. "Perhaps you'll get more of a thrill out of them than I did, but don't damage them."

"Of course."

There was a pause as her purple irises darted up to his shadowy visage.

"...Sir."

The Dark Knight and his ward began committing the profiles of their new enemies to memory as Raven browsed the devilish library and Starfire continued to sit quietly, unable to contribute or even understand.

* * *

**_Name: _**_  
Sally Demecko _

_**Age:  
**Unknown, possibly anywhere from nineteen to mid-twenties  
_

_**Date of Birth:  
**April 18_

_**Place of Birth: **  
Slovakia  
_

_**Codename/Alias: **  
Witch_

_**Abilities: **  
-Emotional manipulation of other people as long as she maintains physical contact._

_-Proficient in many forms of Dark Magic._

_-Capable hand-to-hand fighter._

_**Characteristics: **  
Height of exactly five feet, weight deemed unimportant, shoulder-length brown hair dyed with purple streaks, green eyes. Missing an ear from the initiation ritual of her cult, has many other scars from her time as a Satanic devotee. Possesses a very short, almost pudgy or stocky build.  
_

_**File:  
**Denham was born into a league of assassins for the Slovak government, quickly gaining favour in many circles for her charm and skill. She dabbled in the dark arts as well as demon worship during her down-time, and as such has now become well-versed in the area of hexes and curses. She was sought out by Mr. Wilson Slade specifically for her ability to sap the will of others, and also as a fail-safe in the case of a traitor amongst his midst. She has access to spells which allow her to become nigh invincible to someone without their own knowledge of dark magic, and as such she is paid a much more copious amount than her fellows, because she has the ability to eliminate any one of them should her employer give the word. _

_**Specialization:  
**Infiltration, espionage, team support and enemy deterrent. _

_**Miscellaneous information:  
**A master of torture and the workings of the human mind. Considered to be able to speak and understand all manner of speech through her psychic powers, including the ability to sense the feelings and thoughts of most animals. _

* * *

**_Name:  
_**_Known as Crane (An adaptation of 'Craneo' his name back home)_

_**Age:  
**Claims to be immortal  
_

_**Date of Birth:  
**Unknown  
_

_**Place of Birth: **  
Mexico  
_

_**Codename/Alias: **  
Skull_

_**Abilities: **  
-Strength to the magnitude of Superhuman class 50, able to lift a maximum of fifty tons at peak strength, but his powers wax and wane with connection to . _

_-Regenerative healing factor, in addition to a nigh unbreakable muscle structure, his flesh is like that of any human being, however his muscular system has never been bypassed by any form of weaponry._

_-Tactile control of the green tendrils which serve as 'hair' on his head and neck._

_-Resistance to most magic, including mind-reading and control._

_-Well versed in combat after a century of muggings and skirmishes  
_

_-The very sight of him stimulates a primal instinct of fear in most human beings, making him incredibly intimidating.  
_

_**Characteristics: **  
Height of approximately eight feet, weight of approximately six hundred pounds, head encased in an irremovable metallic skull which has apparently caused his mutation. Lime green tendrils protrude from his scalp and the end of his neck, glowing green eyes, exhales a noxious green gas capable of knocking out people with prolonged exposure. Does not possess anythig even resembling body hair besides the tendrils._

_**File:  
**The accidental offspring of a teenage prostitute, Skull was apparently abandoned in the wilderness as a child, where he grew to unnatural size, and preyed on passing caravans for food and entertainment. Purportedly he one day robbed an old witch selling dark artifacts, and was cursed by the Skull of Decay, by which he cannot die, but is forced to bear witness as the rest of the world does around him. This does not seem to bother him much however, as he actually enjoys watching civilizations fail and environments die. He was hired by Slade because it's only natural to want an invincible soldier, and one who does not ask questions.  
_

_**Specialization:  
**Slaughter  
_

_**Miscellaneous information:  
**Possesses a remarkably weak stomach and immune system, usually he needs not eat or drink, but if he does ingest something spoiled he becomes incredibly sick. Speaks English and Spanish fluently._

_

* * *

_

**_Name:  
_**_Angelica Kroenen  
_

_**Age:  
**Nineteen  
_

_**Date of Birth:  
**September Thirtieth  
_

_**Place of Birth: **  
Germany  
_

_**Codename/Alias: **  
Snow Storm  
_

_**Abilities: **  
-Manipulation of magnetism and electricity_

_-Bodily generation of electrical power_

_-Flight based on magnetism and friction_

_-Absorption of electricity_

_-Ability to empower others with energy.  
_

_**Characteristics: **  
Height of about five feet six inches, weight of one hundred twelve pounds. Waist-length black hair, light brown eyes. When charged her hair frizzes and her veins pop. Possesses electrical scars along her back trailing along the area of her spinal cord, as well as on her stomach and on her scalp (the last being mostly hidden by her hair). Very skinny, almost depraved build.  
_

_**File:  
**Born and raised in Northern Germany, Snow never had any clue that she was a metahuman until the day she went on vacation at fourteen, her parents took her to the UK, where she promptly fell ill, claiming that she missed the cold weather. One day, at her fever's peak, she stepped into a large puddle on a rainy day and electrocuted everyone for blocks around, including her parents. The deaths continued for hours, as people tried to help her, only to be fried upon coming near. She returned to Germany after her powers temporarily burned themselves out, she found that her powers were considerably weaker in the cold air, and completely inactive when in snow. Mind shattered, she repressed the memories of the tragedy she'd created and became Snow Storm, human generator and incredibly dangerous mercenary.  
_

_**Specialization:  
**Battling units armoured in metal, like tanks, heavy infantry and aircraft. CAUTION: Not suited for battles with high numbers of friendlies/civilians, her powers are almost random in output strength and prone to accidental discharges.  
_

_**Miscellaneous information:  
**Takes life day-by-day, uncaring of what has or will happen, the only constants she creates for herself are the kinships with her team. Speaks German and broken, heavily accented English._

_

* * *

_

_**Name:  
**Known only as Squine_

_**Age:  
**Nineteen (Apparently)_

_**Date of Birth:  
**December ninth (According to him)_

_**Place of Birth:  
**The Canary Islands (Purportedly) _

_**Codename:  
**N/A_

_**Abilities:  
**-Unnatural strength to the magnitude of peak human levels, able to lift between two hundred and eight hundred pounds depending on his overall state of mind. _

_-Conscious absorption of all manner of energies, including but not limited to electricity, heat and radiation._

_-Can leech a person's memories out of their head by placing both hands on the enemy's temples and concentrating. The process is agonizing for the victim and very strenuous on Squine. On the other hand, he can also give_ people _memories, thoughts, or images in the same fashion, however in this case it hurts Squine instead._

_-Immunity to mind reading and mind control as well as psychic detection, high resistance to magical and energy based damage. _

_-Ability to obtain all manner of skills by extracting them from the minds of others, among those he has taken already are: CQB Hand-to-Hand fighting techniques, near-mastery of Filipino Knife fighting, a basic knowledge of the martial art Wong Chu, and general knowledge of firearms and other weaponry. _

_-Limited flight _

_**Characteristics:  
**Height of five feet, eleven inches. Weight of approximately one hundred and ninety pounds. Shoulder-length curly black hair which is browning from sun exposure, luminous blue eyes which glow brightest when experiencing extreme emotion, ethnically tan-coloured skin. Large, naturally strong build. Has a history of old scars illustrating across his body, most notably the great tears on his back, the scars from a shotgun blast on his torso, and his missing left nipple. _

_**File:  
**Squine's past is filled with nonsensical contradictions and holes, it would be unwise to believe anything he says about... anything. It should be taken into consideration however that he is a fierce warrior, and should not be judged based on his unstable state of mind. In fact previous employers have stated that his semi-mania has been a boon on his work rather than a hindrance. No trace of him can be located outside of his Mercenary record, and as such the nature of his powers is unknown._

_**Specialization:**  
Shoot-outs, one-on-one/hand to hand combat, combat against those who may utilize psychic tactics. Master of infiltration. _

_**Miscellaneous Information:**  
__It should be made clear that Squine's personality has atrophied over the years because of his powers; all the memories he saps eventually begin to overwrite his own. The best example of this is his claim of having fought with the Nazis in WWII, it's preposterous, but he call recall it lividly because he must have absorbed the memory from a real ex-Nazi. Currently speaks Spanish, English, German, Russian, French, and Filipino._ _(M__ost of these languages were leeched from the minds of those who already spoke them fluently.)_

* * *

The two night owls glanced at each other through their masks, there was something off about all of this. If Robin could trace an E-mail address to a mercenary catalog... then it would stand to reason that Deathstrike -- Slade -- could do that and more.

"We go to Code Black." The Bat muttered, cursing his stupidity at not realizing sooner.

"Get up!" Robin shouted, rousing Starfire and snapping Raven's book closed.

"What?" The demon-child asked, having not been paying attention.

All eyes shifted to the Batcomputer's largest monitor. INTRUDER APPROACHING, was in bold red letters on the screen's border, then it automatically switched to the video feed of five figures approaching the Manor slowly on foot. As Batman called Alfred down the Boy Wonder activated the microphones hidden about the grounds.

_"Riders on the storm..." _An unstable-sounding voice sung, muffled slightly by the pouring rain and humming the accompanying tune. Raven recognized this instantly as Squine as he turned and looked directly into the camera lens, a broad grin spreading across his dripping features, and the rest of his team gathered behind him, silhouettes against the moonlight.

_"There's a killer on the road..." _


End file.
